Judge Hodges (Marion civil): Zoom ≤30 minutes, virtual… — Marion County, FL · BenchPath

Judge Hodges (Marion civil): Zoom ≤30 minutes, virtual materials 5 business days ahead, no binders, discovery motions decided on papers

Medium — verify before relying· verified September 9, 2026Judge PreferencesJudge Hodges 2026 Procedures + DCMO + motion-practice order (circuit5.org)

Official rule; awaiting reverification against the current source text. Verify with the clerk, judicial assistant, or official court website before relying on it.

Summary

120-day DCMO or stipulated CM plan per SC2023-0962 + A-2024-59; hearings via cmatthews@circuit5.org with meet-and-confer confirmation; Zoom typical for hearings ≤30 minutes — in-person required over 30 minutes without prior approval; agreed/unopposed orders in Word with cover letter; competing orders flagged and sent immediately; no binders/notebooks; virtual-hearing materials 5 business days ahead; discovery motions (Rules 1.280–1.390) ordinarily decided without hearing.

Source of truth

Zoom appearances are typically permitted for most hearings set for thirty (30) minutes or less. In-person appearances are required for hearings set for more than thirty (30) minutes without prior approval.

Official source: 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures)
Source health: Healthy · checked October 24, 2026
Effective date: —
Last verified: September 9, 2026benchpath-reverify-2026-09-08 (custody hash match) | prior: fable5-livefetch-2026-07-20

Reviewer note: Verified from live circuit5.org fetch 2026-07-20 (page/PDF hashed; verbatim quotes cross-checked). Verbatim/near-verbatim from the hashed 2026 procedures [moved from the text 2026-09-14] Confidence set to medium 2026-09-14 (fix program, Phase 3b follow-up): the lane labelled this text "near-verbatim"; re-read against the hashed 2026 procedures and quote whole sentences before restoring high.

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Change history

August 6, 2026Monitor: content changed at 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures). Review before republishing dependent rules.
August 5, 2026Monitor: content changed at 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures). Review before republishing dependent rules.
August 3, 2026Monitor: content changed at 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures). Review before republishing dependent rules.
August 2, 2026Monitor: content changed at 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures). Review before republishing dependent rules.
August 1, 2026Monitor: content changed at 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures). Review before republishing dependent rules.
July 31, 2026Monitor: content changed at 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures). Review before republishing dependent rules.
July 30, 2026Monitor: content changed at 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures). Review before republishing dependent rules.
July 29, 2026Monitor: content changed at 5th Circuit — circuit5.org official site (AOs, judge pages, procedures). Review before republishing dependent rules.